HR expert urges flexibility

Activity levels from engineers seeking employment have risen dramatically.

MEP engineers have to be more flexible in order to secure employment in today's highly competitive market, according to Budge Recruitment senior MEP consultant Fabian Garcia.

“The general trend coming through from MEP engineers is them being more open and flexible with regard to everything from salary expectations to working location and the position within a company.”

Garcia also reports that resume numbers have risen in the past few months, and clients are now less willing to negotiate salary packages due to the impact of the economic downturn.

“Activity levels from engineers seeking employment have risen dramatically. Six to seven months ago we would have been chasing them, and clients would have been willing to negotiate salary packages in order to secure top staff. Now resume numbers have risen, and candidates are making the effort to follow up on their applications,” adds Garcia.

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Many companies have effected redundacies as a slew of construction projects have either been delayed or cancelled. “People who are highly skilled and experienced are having to take a good look where they are now, and how they are going to ride out the downturn. This is coming from engineers who are both currently employed, as well as from those who have been made redundant,” notes Garcia.

The US Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that, by 2014, the country will need 29% more HVACR and 21% more plumbing technicians, with a total of more than 100,000 skilled workers in the job pool. Out of 500,000 plumbers in the US, about 167,000 are ageing specialists. The number one field for graduating senior s was a career in  IT or the Internet.

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